Mid-Autumn Moon
Oct. 10th, 2009 05:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The Mid-Autumn Festival was last weekend (also known as the Moon Festival, Lantern Festival and Mooncake Festival). It falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese Lunar calendar, and here it's celebrated with family and friends over mooncakes, pomelo fruit, Chinese tea and children (though age is all in your mind, really) wandering around in the night with lit paper lanterns under the full moon.
Unofficial methods of celebrating involve setting up banks of lighted candles for quick reignition of miscellaneous things that need to be on fire, waving sparklers around, setting fire to the lanterns (being cheap and flimsy, they burn very easily, a light gust of wind can set fire to your lantern just by swinging it sideways), and piling everyone's lanterns together along with what paper and dry leaf litter you can amass and lighting the lot (why, no, I've never done this, even as a kid).

Before the whole thing kicks off, Prowl and Jazz catch a quick moment under the lantern.

They clear off so Optimus can gather the bitty!mechs for storytime. He's telling them a Chinese legend about the moon, the story of Chang'E, Houyi and the Jade Rabbit.

The bitty!mechs get to carry a lantern too. They weren't allowed near the first one, since that one had a real candle inside. But this one's only got a little LED lighting it up.

NotBT!Prowl brings up a problem to his counterpart. The sky's overcast (and you can't really see the moon from my window unless you're half hanging off the ledge anyway), and the moon's not visible. But being clever mechs, they soon have the problem solved.

The Animated!TFs take the bitties for some fun with sparklers.

Bumblebee and Sideswipe have succeeded in uncovering the box of mooncakes. For the unfamiliar, mooncakes are pastries that are slightly smaller than a clenched fist, with a biscuity-bread like outer shell surrounding a solid block of sweet lotus paste. It's not quite a fistful of sugar, but it's pretty darn close. 0_0;; So I put away the camera.
Unofficial methods of celebrating involve setting up banks of lighted candles for quick reignition of miscellaneous things that need to be on fire, waving sparklers around, setting fire to the lanterns (being cheap and flimsy, they burn very easily, a light gust of wind can set fire to your lantern just by swinging it sideways), and piling everyone's lanterns together along with what paper and dry leaf litter you can amass and lighting the lot (why, no, I've never done this, even as a kid).

Before the whole thing kicks off, Prowl and Jazz catch a quick moment under the lantern.

They clear off so Optimus can gather the bitty!mechs for storytime. He's telling them a Chinese legend about the moon, the story of Chang'E, Houyi and the Jade Rabbit.

The bitty!mechs get to carry a lantern too. They weren't allowed near the first one, since that one had a real candle inside. But this one's only got a little LED lighting it up.


NotBT!Prowl brings up a problem to his counterpart. The sky's overcast (and you can't really see the moon from my window unless you're half hanging off the ledge anyway), and the moon's not visible. But being clever mechs, they soon have the problem solved.

The Animated!TFs take the bitties for some fun with sparklers.

Bumblebee and Sideswipe have succeeded in uncovering the box of mooncakes. For the unfamiliar, mooncakes are pastries that are slightly smaller than a clenched fist, with a biscuity-bread like outer shell surrounding a solid block of sweet lotus paste. It's not quite a fistful of sugar, but it's pretty darn close. 0_0;; So I put away the camera.
fraggit why are the shops sold out of mooncake already....D=
Date: 2009-10-10 10:28 am (UTC)Re: fraggit why are the shops sold out of mooncake already....D=
Date: 2009-10-10 11:04 am (UTC)I managed to hold them back a little, phew ^_^;;
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-10 02:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-11 08:30 am (UTC)It's a good time for those inclined to indulge in a little pyromania ;3
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-11 08:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-10 11:46 pm (UTC)My family tends to get free mooncakes every year because one of my relatives works at a Chinese bakery. Makes for interesting breakfasts, except I'm not fond of the multi-nut ones (and my sister loathes the egg-yolk in the lotus seed ones).
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-11 08:25 am (UTC)Heh, I don't like the nut and grain ones either, and I tend to pick out the egg yolk from any that have them. ;P
(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-11 09:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-10-13 01:11 am (UTC)